The pure grief etched across his face was the last thing I remembered seeing. I should've waited, taken the risk that he'd never have spoken to Stone, but he would've held the swinging pendulum over my head. Anything that could be used as a method of destruction. A move which ticked away slowly and eventually would've been used against me, all for his ego. I allowed my past to take hold and drifted into a fretful slumber, hoping this nightmare would end.
19
Dawson
What the fuck? I couldn't control my legs as I stormed out of the side room Everleigh had been placed in. I marched down the corridor, clenching my fists in bunches, hurrying as fast as I could to exit the building. I was breathing heavily as I stormed down the corridor as her words sunk in. Everleigh and Tye were fuck buddies, fucking fuck buddies! I needed a release. I wanted to pound my fists against the walls, but I held it in as people walked past, looking at me with concern. My lungs burned as though I’d run a marathon and my heart felt shredded. My fucking best friend; anyone else fine, but not him. We’d both used sex as a release and I was at peace with that but my best friend and business partner? No, that was too much for me to deal with right now. Why the fuck him? Did he know who she was? Did she know who he was? This was a total mind fuck! A mind fuck that I didn’t know what to do with.
The automatic doors of the hospital came into focus, and I could taste the pressure mounting as the ticking in my eye increased. I walked faster, not caring who or what stood in my way until I barreled straight into a less than impressed woman.
“Mr. Parker…”
“What?” I questioned, not caring for my attitude as I looked up, grinding my teeth furiously.Fuck, Nurse Williamson.
“Are you okay? Where are you going?” she asked calmly, noticing my furrowed brow and angered mist.
“I've got to go… I just can't…”
I felt her hand touch my shoulder, attempting to dissipate the strained emotions and anger, but the fury bubbled deep. The pressure was strangely relaxing, the warmth comforting, but I was unable to bask in the emotions. I was wound like a coiled spring about to explode. For one, Nurse Williamson didn't deserve the force behind that action. All she had done was be in the wrong place, but by the way she was looking at me, it was like she felt she was exactly where she was meant to be.
“Just sit for ten minutes… coffee? I'm a good listener. Whatever has got you so worked up isn't doing you or her any good,” she softly said, directing me to the seating area behind us.
“I… I don't… know.”
“Ten minutes… that's all. Let it out. Don't do anything rash. She doesn't need another person storming out on her today.”
I slumped down in the pulled out chair. My eyes widened in confusion as her words hit me like a flash of lightning in the pitch black of a night sky.
“Another person…?”
“Yep… when she was brought in. A smooth operator that one. If I wasn't mistaken, he was wearing Prada. He left just before you arrived…” she said, looking at me with a smile on her face. “Now, shall we have that coffee?”
I nodded. “Americano, double shot, please,” I asked whilst I allowed the thoughts to run wild.
She wouldn't have been seeking revenge, that's not her style. So, what was I missing here? Why had Everleigh blurted out something like this… unless she felt forced. How did she end up in hospital in the first place?
Stone: it had to be him.Who else?Tye didn't wear Prada, that wasn't his style, but it was Stone’s; his obsession. It was the Ying to his Yang; the flawless masterpieces that he'd use as sweatpants in the gym if he could. How did he know she was here, though? The cryptic message from him to look closer to home but I couldn't trust a word of the sperm donor. Could I? Unless…
One word screamed in my head. Tye. It all goes back to him, but how? What was he playing at?
I walked up to the counter just before the barista had taken her order. “I'm sorry… I’ll be back, but first I’ve something to sort out. I’ve left twenty dollars for the coffees. I won’t be long.”
She nodded before accepting what I said. “Okay… but Mr. Parker…”
“I know… I won't be long.”
Outside of the doors, I walked away from prying eyes and the twitching noses of people who could've been going about their daily business, but my senses were on high alert. Fucking Stone and his crass minions surveying my moves. I found a derelict area after twisting down side roads and watched, noticing I hadn't seen a soul pass since I arrived.
I grabbed my cell and stayed on high alert whilst I dialed Del.
“What do you know? It's gone quiet…” I snapped down the line.
“I know… Level one.”
“What do you mean, Del? Are you saying what I think?” I questioned as a brown paper bag flew across my pathway in the wind.
“I'm at the airport… see you soon.”
Fuck.It's about to go down. Level one meant one thing only, top intelligence had been sourced against someone. I didn't need to guess who.